Superuser escalation via privilege-chained user update
Published Dec 8, 2022 · Updated Apr 23, 2025
Privilege chaining in DHIS2 Core 2.34 through 2.39.0 allows remote authenticated users with user-admin authority to become superusers. The user update path accepts a crafted HTTP PUT that combines User and User Group management authorities without blocking self-assignment of superuser privileges. Exploitation requires authentication with user-admin authority and does not affect deployments where every user administrator is already a superuser.
Summary
What happened
Privilege chaining in DHIS2 Core 2.34 through 2.39.0 allows remote authenticated users with user-admin authority to become superusers. The user update path accepts a crafted HTTP PUT that combines User and User Group management authorities without blocking self-assignment of superuser privileges. Exploitation requires authentication with user-admin authority and does not affect deployments where every user administrator is already a superuser.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-41948
- Published
- Dec 8, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 23, 2025
- Vendor
- DHIS2
- Product
- DHIS2 Core
- Classifications
- CWE-268, CWE-269, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 8, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 2.36.12.1
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.37.0.0, < 2.37.8.1
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.38.0.0, < 2.38.2.1
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.39.0.0, < 2.39.0.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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